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RESTORE VOTING RIGHTS ACT

Tue, 08/06/2013 - 21:28 — ub

Issue

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, US Representative Jose Serrano, and Bronx President Ruben Diaz Jr. have joined forces with LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Puerto Rican Bar Association and the New York Urban League urging Congress to pass a bipartisan legislative solution to restore the Voting Rights Act and ensure that all New Yorkers have full and equal access to the ballot box.

This past June, the Supreme Court struck down a cornerstone provision of that hallmark Civil Rights legislation, known as Section 4, that determines which state and localities must get federal approval before changing their voting laws.

With the dismantling of the Section 4 formula, major federal legal protections for Bronx voters are removed and there is now a greater risk of disenfranchisement through redistricting, voting location changes, and new voter ID laws in many areas of the
country.

US officials, Community Leaders and Advocacy Groups will call for action to restore Federal Protections. US Senator Gillibrand says she will also push for passage of her Voter Empowerment Act to modernize election laws.